Bluebird of Happiness

I made this Bluebird of Happiness quilt in remembrance of my husband, David, who died in 1986 at the age of 44. The pattern I used for the bluebird was taken from a coloring book drawing by Florence Sarah Winship. The background fabric was hand-dyed by Carol Eaton formerly of Shelton, CT.

The song, “The Bluebird of Happiness” made famous in 1945 by the opera tenor, Jan Peerce, had special significance for my husband because his father used to sing this song to him when he was a little boy. Sadly, his father died in 1950 when my husband was only 8 years old.

In late 1976, after we had been dating for a few months, I asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he asked for a copy of this song. Well, in 1976, the Internet (as we know it today) didn’t exist - and because of that, I spent many weeks of frantic searching, lots of praying and then by no small miracle - in the yellow pages of a phonebook, I found a vintage record shop (over 50 miles away) in Hartford, CT that had the exact song he wanted. Over the phone, the store owner told me he had a record album with the song in it and the album cover even had a picture of a bluebird on it! I ordered it sight unseen! I will never forget the look on my husband's face when he opened that Christmas present that year. It was unforgettable!

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Challenge Quilts

My local quilt guild has a Challenge Quilt event each year - usually more than one. Each small challenge quilt has to be a certain size and is based on a particular theme. Here are two Challenge quilts that I made recently. The theme of the quilt on the left was SEASONS and the theme for the quilt on the right was TRIANGLES.

Full Moon Over Stonehenge

I made this small (12"x12") art quilt for the 2016 SAQA Benefit Auction . It's called, "Full Moon Over Stonehenge." I used a navy-blue speckled fabric for the night sky background. I bought some Stonehenge fabrics by Northcott that I used for the vertical sarsen stones and the horizontal lintel stone. The moon is a piece of very thin, silver lamé fabric, which I bonded to the background with Mistyfuse. Within the radiating quilting lines, I added some Swarovski crystals for stars. (It sold for $150.)

Veterans Quilt

2024 - VETERANS QUILT Exhibited in the 2024 CT Piecemakers Quilt Show held at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Orange, CT (Approx. size 54" x 54") I have been working for years on this Veterans Quilt to honor some of the men in my family who have served our country during a time of war. There are four Marines shown on this quilt, three Army veterans, one Navy veteran and one Army Air Corps veteran. (Later, the AAC became the USAAF.) The four surrounded by gold stars had already passed away when I began the quilt. My husband, David, who died in 1986 at the age of 44, (upper center) is one of these four. His great-uncle, Frank Millington, received the Purple Heart Medal during World War I. Because I didn't have a picture of Frank, I scanned the front and back of his medal which was passed down to my late husband. The back of the Purple Heart Medal has Frank's name engraved on it. (middle-center). My father, Arthur Mott (center, left) and my uncle Charles J. "...

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